It's a Little Bit Wicked
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day three hundred and one: A chance meeting in a bar gives Shelby an idea.


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 14th cycle. Now cycle 15!_

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**"It's A Little Bit Wicked"  
Shelby & April (because... well, it had to be done!) **

Shelby had found her way to the back rows of the auditorium, where she would watch three choirs fight it out for a spot at Regionals, with her choir. Among those three choirs, there was McKinley High's New Directions. And among those twelve kids, there was hers. As much as she could say she was only there to keep an eye out on the competition, she'd be lying to say that one girl wouldn't draw her eye more than anybody else.

After the competition was all over – they had won – Shelby had no desire to just go home and be on her own. Somehow this had translated into landing at a bar, after she'd spent an afternoon with an inexplicable determination to buy replacements for certain appliances in her kitchen. Now her purchases out in her trunk, she'd stopped in for a drink.

As she'd moved to the bar, she could see and hear a small blonde woman fussing with a machine in the corner. Shelby turned to face the bartender and ordered her drink. She'd managed not to think about it all too much while she'd abandoned herself in escapist shopping, but now… she had to do something.

There was a high-pitched cry of what she'd rightly deem as victory, followed by the instrumental beginnings of a Blondie song. Shelby turned to find the small blonde, climbing on to the small stage area and pointing to the bartender, calling in the microphone, "Hey, how about that spot light, handsome, we had a deal." The bartender turned to flip a switch on the wall, turning on the lights on and above the stage. "That's better," the blonde sparkled in new light. Most of the bar's patrons had their eyes on her, even Shelby; the woman commanded attention as she sang out her tune.

When she was done, the blonde sauntered on over to the bar, taking a seat a few stools apart from where Shelby sat. After having requested that the 'barkeep' bring her a drink, she got to peeling one peanut, ate it, then pulled the bowl closer by her index finger, starting at another shell. Shelby got back to her own drink, only to be called on a moment later.

"You look familiar, have we met?" Shelby looked over, finding herself under the scrutiny of the blue-eyed blonde.

"No, not that I can tell, I'm sorry," Shelby told her, turning back to her glass. The blonde remained convinced she knew her though.

"I can't say I never forget a face. Sometimes I forget my own name, but I know you, I know I do," she maintained, pointing her finger. Shelby shrugged. "Did you go to McKinley High?" the blonde carried on, re-convinced. Shelby sat up, making her interrogator gasp. "So you did, then!"

"Uh, no, I just… I know of it. I just came from seeing their Glee Club perform in competition, she exclaimed, which got the woman perking up.

"Oh, how did they do?"

"They won," Shelby revealed, much to the blonde's delight as she stood and moved to sit next to her. She signalled for the bartender to bring them both refills.

"It's on me. You know," she went on, having hardly taken a breath in between sentences, "I used to be in that Glee Club myself," she grinned with the pride of a superstar. "Even recently, I was with them again!" Shelby was shocked… Now she remembered the blonde. She'd seen her, at New Directions' Invitationals. "Oh!" the blonde suddenly exclaimed, then laughed. "Now I know how I thought I knew you, it's just you remind me of one of the kids from New Directions, uh… Me and names," she shrugged.

"Rachel Berry," Shelby took a sip.

"Yes, that's it!" the blonde nodded. "You must have seen her then."

"Once or twice," Shelby responded. She paused for a moment. She wasn't going to just unload her whole story on this stranger, but then in some ways she did have some familiarity. "Let me ask you something… have you ever… made a call, a decision that just… came back to bite you in the ass."

"Oh, only all the time," she chuckled. "Go on?" Shelby shrugged.

"Sometimes I think maybe I can fix it, but then what if I get too close, and it doesn't turn out right…"

"There's always a way, isn't there? It's never what I'll think it'll be, but it's there. I'm sure you'll find it," the blonde spoke reassuringly. Shelby never knew her name, but she was right… and now she had an idea… Jesse…

THE END

_[A/N: Attention, reader! If you're at all skilled in helping break fic-planning conundrums, give a big ol' shout! :D]  
(Note to self, don't put the words 'crack' and 'fic' next to each other, it leads to confusion ;))_

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**_[A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, story alert won't get you anything! ;)]_**


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